All Aboard

My night of free backyard camping went without incident and I slept very well. So well in fact that I woke up very well rested at about 6:00. There didn’t seem to be much point lying around so I pack up my things and got ready to roll out. There also didn’t seem to be any activity in the house as I was leaving, so I quietly left one of my “Mark’s Midlife Crisis” cards with a note of thanks and rode off into the sunset … actually, sunrise. Either way, my next priority was the search for breakfast.

The search got delayed briefly as I crossed the bridge back into Drumheller and saw a different view of the World’s Largest Dinosaur lurking high above the trees. Again, it was a bit fun to see. I then spent a “few” minutes trying to get a good photo – this proved to be more challenging than expected given the position of the early morning sun. Oh well. First world problems at 7:00.

I made my way across town (it only took a few minutes) and returned to Subway for my morning fill of sandwiches and water. Two oven-roasted chicken sandwiches later (well, one for breakfast, one for the road) and I was ready for my 110 km ride north to Stettler.

North? But Calgary and Vancouver are west. Well, as I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve decided to explore some areas of Alberta that aren’t directly along the Trans-Canada highway. Yesterday’s ride into Drumheller proved that this was a good idea so I’ve decided to continue north to Stettler. Given my rekindled fascination with trains, I’ve decided to take an Alberta Prairie Railway Excursion tomorrow morning aboard a vintage train.

The ride north out of Drumheller began with a climb that pretty much matched the descent I experienced while entering the area yesterday. I don’t know if was the early hour or the fact that it was Saturday (or maybe a combination of the two) but there was very little traffic to contend with and the climb went smoothly.

Once at the top, the ride became very easy. There was very little wind today so the only meteorological factor I would have to face was the heat. And that has yet to be an issue for me. Plus, I started early so the heat wasn’t a factor for the first couple of hours. After that it definitely got hot – as in about 35 degrees – but that didn’t slow me down at all. In fact, I think it actually helped me. I really do seem to function better in the heat. I know. That’s not normal. Then again, it is for me.

As I made my way towards Stettler, two things became very clear. One, there are NO services between Drumheller and Stettler; and two, I was making very good time. The former wasn’t really a factor since I was well-stocked with both food and water. The latter became a bit of a motivating factor as my current progress might allow me to reach Stettler early enough to catch today’s 2:25 train tour instead of tomorrow’s. The main reason this was appealing is that the weather for tomorrow was showing signs of thunderstorms. And so I pedalled on. Not with a sense of urgency. Not at an unhealthy pace. Just with a new motivation.

As it turns out, making it to Stettler by 2:25 was accomplished easily. Part of the reason for this was that the route Google wanted me to take (side roads) was about 10 km longer than the route I actually took (#56). That said, even if I had taken Google’s route I still likely would’ve been early as I arrived in Stettler at 1:00. Only 4.5 hours of riding – including breaks (although, there weren’t many of those).

With time to spare, I stopped at Subway again. I still had my sub from this morning but I thought I could save those for later. Well, the Subway in Stettler was more than a little busy at that time so I opted to just fill my water bottles and eat the sandwich I had bought in Drumheller. But it’s good to know there’s a Subway waiting for me when it’s time to leave Stettler.

From there I made my way to the train station. I hadn’t made a reservation because you never know what’s going to happen on the road but booking upon arrival wasn’t an issue. Plus, I had phoned yesterday and confirmed that they could store my bike while I was on the tour.

After a quick wardrobe change I was ready to board the train and find my assigned seat. Yes, there were assigned seats but I didn’t spend much time in it. Once the conductor came through and punched my ticket I was free to wander the train freely. I did.

The train had 206 passengers on this day as it made its way from Stettler to Big Valley. I found the route a bit amusing since I had cycled past Big Valley on my way from Drumheller – and I probably went faster than the train! However, the train served beer and was very relaxing. Plus, there was a buffet waiting for us in Big Valley.

However, before we arrived in Big Valley there was a bit of an incident along the way. The train was slowed down to allow the big city folk on board to see a rare site – an outhouse. This turned out to be an opportunistic time for a group of bandits on horseback to attack the train and relieve its passengers of any excess money they might have. Of course, this was all just part of the show and the money “stolen” would be given to a local children’s charity. We were later told that the robbery raised over $500 for said charity.

At about 4:00, we pulled into the station at Big Valley and were greeted by a collection of locals dressed in old western attire. From there we were free to explore the town at our leisure. Of course, having cycled all morning I headed directly for Jubilee Hall for dinner. Perhaps the greatest word a cyclist can see at the end of a ride is, “Buffet”.

The buffet was a simple selection of salad, roast beef, potatoes, and veggies. There was also a selection of fruit and cookies for dessert. It was a perfect meal to fill my tank. Actually, two full plates and three dessert visits later and I may have overfilled my tank a bit. I really didn’t need the third plate of dessert. But there were chocolate cookies. Resistance was futile.

During dinner I met a David and Carol (I hope I got those names right) and Reta and Gary (I know I got that right because Reta had cards made up). They were part of a 29 member family contingent celebrating Gary’s 80th birthday. They were great to talk with about the train, the trip, the dinner, and I even got the lowdown on Alberta politics – I didn’t realize that Alberta had gone NDP!

Despite my overfilled stomach, I took a couple more chocolate cookies to go (I SO didn’t need them) and headed back towards the train station. They had some interesting displays including the local jail, the restored train station, and an exhibit of various tools and even a collection from some old train sets – including one that looked VERY familiar to one I played with in my youth … and it was an old train set back then!

At 6:00 we boarded the train to return to the train station in Stettler where I retrieved my bike and made my way over to the Lions Stettler Municipal Campground. With the early wake up, longish bike ride, hot sun, hills, train tour, and somewhat gluttonous dinner, it made for a very full day and by the time I had my tent set up I was starting to feel exhausted. But in a good way.

For the second straight day my decision to veer off the Trans-Canada and do some exploring has had favourable results. I’m now about 250 km from Calgary and will head in that direction on Monday. By doing the train tour today I suddenly find myself with a free day tomorrow which I think I’ll just use to get caught up on a few things – including coming up with a plan for the upcoming week.

Today’s totals: 106.31 km
Ride time: 4:48:26
Average speed: 22.11 km/h
Maximum speed: 50.45 km/h